WSOP 2023: Isaac Haxton, Rafael Reis & Jim Collopy Win Bracelets, India’s Ankit Ahuja Makes Makes Final 11 in $2.5K Freezeout NLHE 

The exhilarating action at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas continued as Day 10 of the festival came to a close on June 8. Three tournaments reached their climaxes during this eventful day, while five other bracelet events advanced further.

In a display of fervent Brazilian support, Thursday night witnessed Rafael Reis secure his debut gold bracelet in Event #15: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em. Reis triumphed over Daniel Barriocanal in an intense heads-up showdown, capturing the grand prize of $465,50. Barriocanal, a formidable opponent, took home $287,679 for his second-place finish. The event attracted an impressive tally of 2,454 participants, contributing to a prize pool of $3,276,090.

Thursday night heralded a long overdue triumph for Isaac Haxton in Event #16: $25,000 High Roller. Widely regarded as one of the best players in the business yet to win a bracelet, the American poker superstar finally clinched his maiden WSOP gold bracelet and an incredible first-place prize of $1,698,215. Expertly navigating through a record-breaking field of 301 entrants, Haxton concluded his journey with a heads-up duel against Ryan O’Donnell (2nd for $1,049,577). This momentous win boosted Haxton’s career earnings to $37,509,332, pushing him to #14 on poker`s all-time money list.

The event recorded an unprecedented participant count for its buy-in category at the WSOP, amassing a colossal prize pool of $7,073,500. The generous pot was shared among 46 players.

An intense showdown unfolded tonight at the final table of Event #17: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, stretching on for nearly nine hours. Half this nail-biting duration was consumed by a grueling heads-up duel between Nick Kost and the ultimate victor, Jim Collopy, relentlessly vying for the title. Ultimately, Collopy reigned supreme, securing his career-third gold bracelet and a handsome first-place reward of $262,542. Kost, demonstrating remarkable resilience, walked away with an impressive second-place prize of $162,266.

Day 2 of Event #19: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout began with 144 survivors from the starting field of 1,139 entries. Following an entire day’s play, only 11 survived the onslaught on the felts. Qiang Xu leads the small group to the third and final day in the chase for the bracelet and the top prize of $435,924.

Zu amassed a monster stack of 7,760,000 and is followed by Unibet Poker Team Pro Alexandre Reard (4,800,000) and Andres Korn (4,760,000).

The final-day survivors include players from eight countries and three former WSOP bracelet winners, including Niall Farrell (1,700,000), who carried forth a short stack.

Another bracelet sweat is brewing for the Indian contingent attending the series, with Ankit Ahuja positioned favorably among the 11 survivors heading into the final day of Event #19. Ahuja, who opened his scorecard this year with a 20th place finish in Event #12: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout, had returned on Day 2 with a below-average stack but had a glorious day.

Ahuja eliminated John Reading (26th for $14,330) and Jason Acosta (25th for $14,330) and was rallying among the chip leaders for most of the day. By Level 25, Ahuja had climbed to 4 Million in chips. Towards the fag end of the play, however, Ahuja lost a massive hand to Adam Swan with his pocket eights losing the flip against Swan’s ace queen that spiked a queen on the river.

Even though Ahuja lost 1.7 Million from his stack to Swan, he bagged a stack of 3,505,000, placing him sixth in chips among the 11 contenders.

The other two Indians, Sriharsha Doddapaneni (70th for $6,796) and WSOP bracelet winner Kartik Ved (118th for $4,387) added to their series tally.

The remaining 11 finalists are assured at least $26,926, with Day 3 to start at noon (local time) on Friday, June 9.

The curtain fell on Day 1B of Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker, concluding an exhilarating day of play. The session drew 4,571 competitors to Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, swelling the prize pool to a robust $1,124,466. With two Day 1s still to go, total attendance has already crossed the impressive 8,500-entry mark. The bubble burst during Level 16, and the remaining 687 players were assured a min-cash of $480. The play continued for another six levels until only 151 contenders remained with chips in hand. After 22 levels of thrilling play, Justin Arnwine emerged at the forefront, securing his position as the chip leader with a hefty 3,080,000.

The solo Indian competitor to advance from Day 1B was Abhishek Parashar, who amassed the 24th most giant stack among the 151 survivors, with 1,505,000 in chips.

Also moving forward to Day 2 from Day 1B were players of Indian origin, including Hrishikesh Kulkarni (1,895,000 chips), Kaylan Lakkavarapukota (1,020,000 chips), and Serbjeet Pin Ahluwalia (410,000 chips).

On the flip side, several runners didn’t make it to Day 2 but survived the money bubble. Indian-origin players such as Varun Uppal (172nd place, $971), Ravee Sundara (356th place, $648), Rajiv Khanna (400th place, $648), Akash Desai (410th place, $601), Sridhar Sangannagari (432nd place, $601), Anant Patel (536th place, $525), and Ajay Gnanasambanthan (559th place, $525), were among them.

Day 1C of the Gladiators of Poker will commence at 10 AM (local time) on June 9, with Day 1D following suit at the same time on June 10. The victors from all Day 1 flights will reconvene for the Day 2 session on June 11.

Day 2 of Event #20: $1,500 Badugi showcased intense competition as the field narrowed down from 183 players who started the day to just 13 survivors. Ukrainian player Serhii Popovych emerged as the chip leader, amassing an impressive stack of 1,885,000. The renowned sports bettor and two-time WSOP champion David “OBD” Baker is not far behind, with 1,400,000.

Claiming the third spot on the day-end counts is Lee Horton from the United Kingdom, boasting a stack of 1,220,000. Other notable players who secured their spots for the next stage include high stakes regular Danny Tang (1,180,000) and bracelet winner Owais Ahmed (620,000).

Day 2 also saw some recognizable names exiting the tournament, including current WSOP Player of the Year leader Chad Eveslage, 2021 WSOP Main Event winner Koray Aldemir, and the unfortunate bubble boy Brian Hastings.

The action kicked off in Event #21: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed, attracting a massive field of 2,017 entries. This marked a significant increase from last year’s participation of 1,891 players, generating a colossal prize pool of $1,795,130.

As the day progressed, only 117 players kept their bracelet hopes alive, with American pro Suk Bang (1,465,000) leading the pack. Bang was one of just two players to accumulate over a million chips, with Israel’s Ido Aboudi (1,020,000) joining him in this elite club.

The highly anticipated Event #22: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship commenced on June 8, drawing in an impressive field of 104 players. Surpassing last year’s participation of 92 entries, this year’s event promises to be fiercely competitive. As Day 1 concluded, 46 players bagged chips, ready to continue the battle on Day 2. It’s worth noting that late registration remains open until the start of Day 2, adding the potential for even more contenders.

Leading the Day 1 survivors is Japan’s Nozomu Shimizu, who bagged an impressive stack of 334,000. Shimizu recently showcased his skills with a remarkable third-place finish in Event #12: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout, earning $287,106.

Joining Shimizu in the upper ranks is Kevin Song, who secured a stack of 322,000 for Day 2. These two players are the only ones with over 300,000 in chips, setting themselves up as formidable forces in the tournament.

Notably, the 2021 WSOP Main Event champion Koray Aldemir displayed his prowess again, concluding the day with a strong stack of 266,000. Aldemir’s presence adds further excitement to the competition as he aims to add another prestigious bracelet to his poker resume.

Other well-known names who made it to Day 2 include Ronnie Bardah (188,000), closely followed by Shaun Deeb (138,000) and Chris Vitch (154,000). Cary Katz (251,000), Nate Silver (199,000), Daniel Zack (111,000), and former WSOP Main Event Champion Joe McKeehen (194,000) also secured their spots for the next stage of the tournament.

Day 2 is scheduled for 1 PM (local time) on June 9, with the play to begin from Level 11. Every level will be 90 minutes long, and seven levels will play out.

Content & Images Courtesy: WSOP

Keep following PokerGuru for daily updates from the 2023 WSOP!